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Christian Chronicles, November 2000 - Volume 4, Issue 60
| The Editor's Pen | Perspectives: When Christians Sin | Mid-East Update | Fruit of the Vine | More Subtle, More Crafty | Is Your Eye Good? | Apologia | If and When We Sin | Jesus Christ - All We Ever Needed |
We at Christian Chronicles tend to focus more upon the grace of God and less upon the works of the believer in our writings, and we rarely get into the sin issue at all, not being under Law, but grace. We do recognize, however, that Christians sometimes find themselves in situations that they cannot reconcile with what they know of God’s will, as laid out for us in His Word.
In this issue, we shall discuss sin in the Christian’s life. Our format has been changed for this one issue only, in order that we might present in its entirety the rather lengthy center article, published anonymously. We beg your indulgence regarding the smaller than normal font size and the longer than normal center article. We shall return to our regular format in the December issue.
The purpose of Christian Chronicles is not so much to be a vehicle through which the unsaved might read it and be saved as it is to educate and edify those already saved, equipping them to be more effective witnesses in their own personal ministries. Our prayer is that you will grow from every issue, both in fruitfulness and in faithfulness.
Perspectives: When Christians Sin
Why do Christians sin? More to the point, why does God allow us to sin? Why would a God who loves us allow us to be tempted so that we sin against Him? These are hard questions, and ones that every Christian must face in times of conviction and heartache.
To be perfectly honest, no satisfactory answer has yet been devised. Every Christian has a heartfelt desire to be sinless, to serve God perfectly in every way, to be fruitful and blessed in every aspect of his or her life. None of us ever achieve that standard. And when we sin, our hearts grieve. And when they do not grieve, we suffer chastisement that makes us grieve for other reasons until we grieve rightly and return to fellowship with our heavenly Father. But there is a way of looking at this issue that might provide some measure of comfort when we sin, a way of understanding why sin is allowed in our lives.
We are imperfect creatures. We are fallen creatures who resist God. We do not heed God’s love, but when He displays it to us, we immediately become presumptuous, turning from Him to some object of our lust or pride for the gratification that could only come from Him. It ought not be so, but it is so. We are grateful for His blessings for a time, but then we become complacent, thinking in our hearts that we need not be so close to Him since He loves us so much. It is almost as if we dare Him to change His way of dealing with us.
There is a passage of Scripture that helps to explain what happens when a Christian sins. It is that old favorite, Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” In the original manuscripts of the Bible there were no sentence separations, no punctuations, no capital letters. Thus, when those were added to our English translations, they were not all done correctly. This verse, while correct in showing that we are called according to God’s purposes, is perhaps incorrect in being punctuated in such a way as to imply that not all things work together for our good according to His purposes. An alternate punctuation might read: “...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called, according to His purpose.” Adding that comma between called and according changes the sense of this wonderful passage. Then, not only are we called according to the purpose of God, but all things also work together for our good according to that same purpose. Then, though we remain responsible for our sins, God can be seen to have allowed us to sin in order to accomplish some purpose. Paul implies this when he says, “Shall we sin that grace may abound?” (Rom 6:1). God never causes us to sin. He never tempts us to sin. But when we do sin, He is able to turn those sins to our advantage, and to the advantages of others as well. Else, not all things would work to our good. He forbids us to sin. The very next verse reads, “God forbid!” But God’s purposes are all-inclusive. He has known from all eternity about every sin that every Christian would ever commit, and every one of them has already been paid for at Calvary. While we ought not sin, God has some purpose in allowing it. It may be to teach us some hard lesson through chastisement which we would not learn in any other way, or it may be to teach someone else something through observing our sin or being in some way affected by it. Sometimes when we sin, it is not about us at all, but about someone else, or for their benefit. Sometimes God allows us to sin in order to put us in some situation that we would not be in if we weren’t sinning, so that He might use us for some other purpose altogether.
As stated above, there is no truly satisfying answer to the question of why God allows sin in the Christian life, but our lack of understanding ought not drive us away from God, but closer to Him, that we might avoid sin wherever possible. None of us like to sin, though we love our lusts. It is paradoxical, but compare Romans 7:15-25 with Romans 8:28 and see if there is not some comfort to be found.
As of the date of this writing, there are more than 150 Palestinians dead and only fifteen or so Israelis. That is approximately the ratio that we will see if full-scale war breaks out in the Middle East. And that is why full-scale war has not broken out.
A glance at the headlines would take away any hope at all for a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement any time in the next few months or years. However, a mere glance at the Bible wouldn’t reveal very much of its contents either. There is reason to be hopeful, and it is this very violence that seems to threaten the entire region that is the basis for our continuing hope. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority are going to have to make some substantive compromises on East Jerusalem. Realistically, there is not an alternative, for Israel is not going to give them all that they are demanding.
As we noted last month, this current spate of violence may serve as a spur to bring both sides to the negotiating table with a new perspective on the necessity for peace. It is certain that the Palestinians will come to understand that they cannot “defeat” Israel in an armed struggle. The fruit of the bloodshed will almost surely be deeper concessions by the Palestinians, who have made few concessions thus far, and none at all concerning Jerusalem. Israel has practically given away the store regarding Jerusalem, and is not likely to be even as generous next time as they were at Camp David in July. Our view is that we would be wise to watch for the peace that follows this violence.
Nothing quenches the flame of evangelism in the heart of a Christian like unconfessed sin. It turns the focus away from God and toward the things of the flesh, the things of the earth. No ministry to others is effective or fruitful until the Christian minister has prayed, cleaning the slate once again and returning to full fellowship with his heavenly Father. Confession may be good for the soul, but it is essential to effective ministry. This does not entail standing before the assembled congregation and pouring out a list of the sins one has committed. Not at all. But it does entail an acknowledgement before our Father in heaven that we are sinners, still in need of God’s grace, still dependent upon Him for our performance of every good work, wholly unable to serve on our own, wholly sinful and unworthy. Such a heart attitude as this is pleasing to God, and is always blessed with fruitfulness and reward.
The devil comes at the Christian from every conceivable angle. He is so subtle that we are often caught up in some sin before we even realize that we have been tempted. Unsaved folks seem to go through their lives without much tumult or chaos, but the Christian seems to face some new peril with every day that dawns. Of course, we are told that it will be this way, and ought not be surprised to find it so. But we often are surprised to find ourselves inextricably bound in some situation or circumstance that we didn’t plan for or expect to see in our lives.
Those Christians who do not seek to serve God do not seem as afflicted by the devil as those who do. Let a Christian begin to pray and to serve on a daily basis, and the devil will be not far behind, slipping into his heart from this direction or that, completely unnoticed. His goal is ever the same. He doesn’t care so much what sin he can entice the Christian into, as long as it is a sin that will successfully divert him from whatever good work he seeks to do.
The devil uses three avenues of approach: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. How many churches have been split over a pastor who got too close to some woman he was counseling and wound up emotionally involved? It is the devil’s favorite trick. John tells us that those three things, the lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride are all that is in the world. First the devil will attack the head, and the start hitting with the heavy body blows. He will strike at the preacher first, and then divide the congregation. We all ought to be wise enough not to be too hasty in judging a situation until we understand what God would have us do. Instead, many congregations jump too fast in judgment, reaching conclusions that might not be the right one.
It would be far better if every Christian simply considered that we are all subject to the same sins, even preachers, and deal with sin in the lives of one another with love and compassion rather than judgment. The devil is too subtle for the wisest of Christians.
It must be focused on the Light for your whole body to be filled with light (Mt 6:22-23). The way to avoid sin is not to focus on the sin, but on Him who has already delivered you from it. Watching the things of the flesh will only draw you into those sins you seek to avoid. Focusing on the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is ever a Christian’s surest refuge (Rom 8:5).
Sin. We hate it. But we do it. The most that we detest, that much more we do. Evil in the world is easy to explain, impossible to restrain. It takes God to restrain it, and He does not eliminate it (yet), but only holds it back. Everywhere we look, we see that it is worse. And getting worse. And worse. It is the way it is prophesied to be. Sin in the world is expected, and we know that it will only get worse yet, until Jesus establishes His throne in Jerusalem. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. It is all sin.
Sin in the world is one thing, but sin in the Christian, ah, there is the contradiction, the great irony. How can one who has all of God living in himself be found a sinner? How can one, whose only purpose is to serve, serve self so much more predominantly than God? How can a fruitful Christian be found also bound in the cords of the most depraved of sins? And why is it that the more fruitful and devoted the saint, the deeper and darker is his personal slate of sin? One would expect that the more faithful and fruitful among Christians would also be the least sinful, the most moral. Find a faithful and fruitful Christian and he will tell you that it isn’t so. There are no exceptions. Only liars. Only proud people who cannot bear the shame of their sins publicly.
Those Christians who serve the most steadfastly are also the greatest sinners, if only because, the more one knows, the more offensive every sin becomes. The Apostle Paul was so sinful that he called himself a wretched man. The Bible does not use hyperbole. Paul was not exaggerating. It is very likely that he was indeed a most wretched sort of sinner, one whose sins were so black that he did not enumerate or define them other than to acknowledge that they were bad enough that they made of him a wretch. We know that he was self-willed and headstrong, for he disobeyed the very prophet of God in determining to go to Jerusalem after being told that he must not go. In doing so, he brought about his own execution, shortening his life, and his ministry, so that the fruit he might later have borne was not borne by him. But this was long after he had already acknowledged that he was a wretched sinner.
It might be of some comfort to the rest of us who sin to know what evil deeds lurked in the private heart of Paul, so that we might feel better about our own sins. But it has not been God’s purpose to reveal that to us, perhaps because we are not supposed to feel better about our own sins. Such a lightening of that load would surely lead to the very licentiousness that Paul fought against so vehemently. “Well, if Paul could do it and still be saved, why can’t I?” might become our talisman. Of course, no Christian takes his own sins lightly, and that probably would not happen. Nevertheless, if we focus on Paul’s sin, we do not see our own quite so clearly. Besides, we are not to focus on either Paul’s sin or our own, but upon the Author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, who died for sinners.
Human reason tells us that one who is the most respectable and most morally upright will always make the best minister of the gospel. The Bible tells us the very opposite. Paul wrote, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor 1:27-29). God has not chosen “good” people to serve Him, but sinners, and of those, the most vile sort.
The thing that most amazes me is that, the longer I serve and the more fruitful I become, the worse my sins become. I sink farther into depravity rather than climbing farther out of it into the glorious light of morality and goodness. My very heart and soul cry out for answers. Why, God, must I be so awful? Why must I be one such as I am, unable to cease from sinning, unable to serve as I want so very badly to serve You? Why must other people see my sins? Why can I not be like Paul or Daniel, whose sins were not revealed? Why must the world know of my depravity? Or, if not the world, then those alone about whom I care the very most? More to the point, why, God, must I bear this awful stain of guilt everywhere I go and everywhere I look? Most of all, God, why must I be found to be a sinner, sinning against the very God whom I so deeply desire to serve perfectly? Why must I constantly offend You, my God?
Oh, how terribly poignant those questions are, and what tears they have wrought in me, and always at the very most important moments of my life. When I awake in the mornings of those important times, those questions stare back from my mirror at me. The devil surely laughs to see my discomfiture. When I sit down to minister to others at my computer, my sins scream at me that I must be also the greatest hypocrite in the world. But no hypocrite acknowledges his sins. I cannot deny my own. Other people already know of them. When I teach, my throat closes around those awful questions and the certainty of my unworthiness to teach anyone when I need to be taught the most basic lessons of morality myself. When I eat, I eat the bitter herbs of conviction and defeat. When I lay upon my pillow, there is no escape. In dreams, I see myself cloaked in black, scurrying down some dark, damp alleyway of sin, skulking in the darkness, darkness myself. Oh, the brief and hideous joy of sin is not worth the terrible price it exacts.
But then I pray. And therein is my relief ever found. That still, small voice of God speaks to my heart, and says, “Be still now, My son. I know you. I read the thoughts and intents of your heart at every moment. Oh, to be sure, it grieves Me deeply to see the sin that is in you. My Spirit cries out against it, but your Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, turns my heart to Calvary where He shed His blood to pay for those sins, and I forget those sins before I even see them.
If I did not allow this deep measure of sin in your life, my darling son, I could not use you as I do. You would become proud and boastful, and could bear no fruit. Pride would make you useless to Me. Your sin has made you humble, even as it has also humiliated you. But only the humble may serve Me. I do not seek the morally upright to serve, but sinners, even as I sent my Son to save sinners and not the righteous. Those of Mine who know you will love you in spite of your sin, as I have. Those of the world will condemn you roundly, but I do not condemn you. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Did not My Son speak those very words to His disciples? I speak them now to you.
Besides, My child, you cannot know what use I will make of these terrible lessons tomorrow. Or even today. You do not know to whom you will minister, but I know, who work all things according to My own purposes, and for your good. It is not My will for you to sin, but I am able to use every moment of your life for your good and for My profit. Therefore, My son, do not look upon your sins any longer, but look to Me, whose grace is sufficient for you, as it also was for Paul. I have allowed you to be such a sinner so that you are not able to judge anyone else on any account, but are able to speak of My grace, which saved you. If you were not so black yourself, you would be of no use to Me. But sinful as you are, I can use you to bring the glorious light of My grace to sinners everywhere. When others think too highly of you, I bring you low, that their respect might be for God and not for man. Have I not done it so many times, and do you still not understand?
Understand, My child, I have already judged your sins in My own Son. I will neither judge you nor punish you for them. That you must bear them is more than enough, for I understand the torment in your heart on their account. Do not fear, My child. There is reward for those who persevere in the face of such torment. The torment does not emanate from Me, but from your adversary, who would take your eyes off of My grace and put them on the dark things of the flesh, thereby diverting you from your work. If you were not such a sinner, then I should have to say to you, as I also said to my great angel, Lucifer, ‘Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground…’ But because you acknowledge your sin, I may say to you, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden…’
Do you suppose, My child, that I do not see your labors? Do you think that I cannot read the heart of the Christian in you that detests the sin that is in you? I see it, My dear child, and I love you all the more for it. There is treasure laid up in My house for you on account of your labors, and no judgment at all for your sins. You could not sin at all if I did not allow it. And I do not allow it for your pleasure, but for my purposes, that you, who shall do great works, shall be humbled, and that I might use the things that you learn to cause you to do greater things yet. Do not be cast down. Let not your heart be troubled.
Seek first the kingdom of God. That is the time and place in which you shall forever enjoy the sinlessness that you desire. That is when the burden of your sin shall be finally lifted, and your labors will be completely perfected. Until then, dear one, do not look to yourself at all, but look unto Me, the only source of comfort you will find in the world, the only Provision for your sin, the only hope of your perfection, and serve me in spite of your sin. Be humble, but be confident. For your confidence is in Me and not in yourself, and I shall make you fruitful and blessed. Remember, My dear child, today, the just shall live by faith.”
Be still, my heart! Grace is no license to sin. We are responsible for our sins, and not God. His purposes do not cause us to sin, but He is able to take what we do and use it to accomplish good on our behalf. For there is nothing that He has not foreseen. I do not like the sin that I find in myself, and can say with Paul, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” But I can shout rejoicing with him also, saying, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Rom 7: 24-25). In the flesh of any Christian dwells no good thing at all. There is no good in any of our fleshly natures, but only sin and utter depravity. Sometimes we do indeed walk in the flesh, and sometimes in the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we do not sin at all, nor fulfill the lusts of the flesh (see Gal 5:16). But the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that we do not do the things that we wish.
I am not a sinner because I sin, but I sin because I am a sinner. Oh, if I could root it out, do not think that I would not do so. But if such a saint as the Apostle Paul could not root it out of himself, there is no hope that I can root out my own sin. The only consolation in the depth of my depravity is that God seems to make the greatest use of the greatest sinners. While I must bear this awful weight of sin, and the consequent knowledge that it offers as to who and what I am, I also know that there is a great weight of treasure laid up for me in heaven, and that God shall wipe away every tear and make the blackest of my sins whiter than the virgin snow that falls from heaven. There is the certain knowledge that Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, looked into that bitter cup and saw my every sin those thousands of years ago, and drank them down because He loved me in spite of them, taking them upon Himself and suffering the judgment for them in the effusion of His blood at Calvary. Perhaps the blackest of my sins was found in those great drops of blood that He perspired before ever a whip was laid upon Him. Perhaps the blackest of your sins was there as well.
There are then at least three purposes in the sins that are found in the Christian. First, they are allowed in order to keep us humble, that we might not exalt ourselves in the praise of men. They are found in us so that we will ourselves have no illusions as to our greatness. While, outwardly, we profess humility, God reads the thoughts and intents of our hearts, and He knows that if it were at all possible, we would tell ourselves that we deserve the greatness that He bestows upon us. We would credit it to our intellect or our beauty or our superior morality, and our hearts would become lifted up. And we would become useless to God. If our sin were not constantly before us, if we could eliminate even the smallest amount of it, we would quickly lay aside the grace of God and become dependent upon ourselves, taking pride in our fruitfulness and spiritual gifts. God allows sin in the life of a Christian so that this cannot happen. He makes us useful to Himself by letting us see within ourselves how very useless we are, how corrupt and incorrigibly sinful. We cannot glorify God, but He can glorify Himself in us.
Second, God allows sin in the life of His children so that others may not place us upon pedestals, glorifying us rather than Him. Too often, the most effective of God’s ministers are highly placed. Very few are able to accept the high position without losing their spiritual equilibrium. Any preacher who has great worldly acclaim must be immediately suspect (though a few are sound), for God does not allow His children glory this side of the rapture of the Church and the judgment seat of Christ, where our glory shall finally be revealed (see Rom 8:19-25).
God may or may not allow our sins to become generally and publicly known, but when those to whom we minister put inappropriate trust and admiration in us, God will quickly bring us low in their estimation. Oh, the bitter humility of it. The shame and degradation of it. The terrible embarrassment of it, to be found despicable in the eyes of those whom we most want to impress. But God will not have it. He will not allow us to be too highly thought of, but we will be shown to be as sinful as we truly are, that He may receive the glory for the work that we do in the lives of those to whom we minister. And that is as it should be, for He does not make us sinners, but only allows that which is already in us to be brought out into the light of day. In truth, we deserve no glory, but we shall have it nonetheless, but only in the proper time and Day. Our glory shall be revealed, without sin, at the judgment seat of Christ. Until then, we are made to know ourselves, and to be known by those to whom we minister, as unworthy of any honor or glory, kept humble, that we might remain useful to God while we are on the earth and in these ministries. It is as much for the shame that we bear today as for the work that we do that we shall receive that reward in that Day. God loves us, and does not enjoy our discomfiture at all, but in every way regrets that it must be, at least for a time.
Third, God allows sin in the lives of His children so that those to whom we minister will not be put off by our superior morality. That is, the lost will not come to God, because they fear Him. They will not go to one of high morals, for fear of righteous judgment. But they will open themselves up to another sinner and ask those questions that will lead to their salvation. This is why Paul himself became as those to whom he ministered, that he “might by all means save some.” Only a sinner can minister to another sinner. Jesus was no sinner, and sinners crucified Him. He could not minister to them, though He could die for them. We are sinners, and are able to minister to sinners. These are the “greater works” that Jesus Himself spoke of that we were to do after His ascension.
The question of sin in the lives of Christians is troublesome, to be sure, but it is not without answer to the man of faith. We ought never to sin, but we sin ever. Our hearts deplore the depravity that we find in ourselves, but we find ourselves unable to answer our crying hearts. My friends, if there is sin in your life, the answer is never to turn away from God and hide. The answer is to turn to Him, praying thus: “Dear God, my God, my Father in heaven, I cannot stand myself, nor the things that I do. Neither can I understand why I am doing them. I know that I am unworthy of even addressing You, and except for Your amazing grace, I could not come before the throne of Your mercy and plead with You to remove this stain of sin from my consciousness. I seek to serve You, and I only sin. I sin against my family and my friends. I sin against strangers and those to whom I should be ministering. I sin against my allies and my enemies. Most of all, my Father, against You only do I sin, doing these evil things in Your sight, before whom I stand naked and ashamed.
I cannot understand the depth of my depravity, nor how You can possibly turn this evil to my advantage or to Your profit, but Your Word tells me that it is so, and I can only trust You to make it so. Dear heavenly Father, Your Word promises that if I but acknowledge You in everything, You will certainly direct my steps. Please, my God, direct my steps out of this sin and into Your service. I know that I cannot sin at all but that You both know and permit it, though I am alone guilty of it, for you cannot tempt me to sin nor be tempted Yourself. I do not understand how You could possibly love one such as me, but Your Word tells me that You do, and I must believe that if I am to find any peace at all in the world. I know that You have already forgiven me, and that You have also already forgotten this sin that I bring now to Your remembrance. I do not do so to remind you, but to beg Your indulgence, that You might turn my eyes back to Your grace, and my heart back to Your service.
Father, I cannot know Your purposes in the things that I find myself doing, but I know that You know them altogether, and are able to bring me back up from the depths of my depravity and into the glorious light of Your grace, and into the fruitful service of my Lord and Savior. Teach me what You would have me learn, make me humble, grant me the wisdom to see Your purposes and to grow from this travesty, becoming a better and more fruitful witness of Your grace. Father in heaven, glorify Yourself in me, a sinner. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation; and uphold me with Thy willing Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Lead me in the way everlasting, O God. Open Thou my lips, that I might sing praises unto Thee.
My Father, I do not come to You in prayer on account of any righteousness that is in me, but because I am in Christ, the Author of all righteousness. I do not come to You because I am righteous, but because He is righteous and I am in Him. Therefore do I pray these things in His name, knowing that You hear my prayer and will surely deliver me. Place my feet, Father, in a wide place and cause my heart to serve You and not myself.”
If you are ashamed, O Christian, that is not a bad thing, but a good thing. Do not fret because of your sin, but look to the Author and finisher of your faith to lift you up from it and make you useful to Himself. He is not only able, but willing. Even now, Jesus Christ waits to lift you from the darkness of your sin and make you useful once again unto Himself.
Sin is expected in the world, but the Christian ought to expect it in himself as well, so that when it arises in him, he may turn quickly to his God to find deliverance from it. God does not expect that His children will be sinless, but He does expect us to confess our sin and to return to fellowship with Him. This we cannot do, no matter how great or small our particular sin, if we hide from Him. Our God does not chastise us as a form of punishment for any sins that we might have committed or be committing now, but chastisement is but the means of our restoration to a loving Father. But, if we turn to Him when we find ourselves sinners, He will not only refrain from any chastisement at all, but will also use that sin for our edification and blessing thereafter. It is perhaps His greatest miracle, to be able to glorify Himself in sinners such as we are. Thank God for His amazing grace. Keep the faith!
The following quote by J.C. Metcalf uses our Lord’s treatment of Peter following Peter’s denial of Him in order to make the same point:
"It takes a man who has discovered something of the measure of his own weakness to be patient with the foibles of others. Such a man also has a firsthand knowledge of the loving care of the Chief Shepherd, and His ability to heal one who has come humbly to trust Him and Him alone. Therefore he does not easily despair of others, but looks beyond sinfulness, willfulness, and stupidity, to the might of unchanging love. The Lord Jesus does not give the charge, 'Be a shepherd to My lambs. . . to My sheep,' on hearing Peter's self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty, but He gives it after he has utterly failed to keep his vows, and has wept bitterly in the streets of Jerusalem." -J.C.M. [J.C. Metcalf]
Let us not, in our quest to understand sin in the Christian experience, be found guilty of making sin seem less serious than it is. For our conception of sin will directly correlate with our conception of who God is. If our sins seem small, our God is not very big. “The offense is not so very great, seeing that God is not so far above us.” That is the effect in our hearts when we think our sins too small or insignificant to matter very much.
Make no mistake about it, sin is grievously wrong, no matter the soteriological estate of the sinner. Lost or saved, a sin is equally wrong, and equally to be avoided. Every sin matters as if it were an offense against the Supreme Being personally, against the very Creator God who holds our next breath in His hand at every moment. It matters that much, because our God is inconceivably large both in knowledge and in power. So far above us in holiness is He that even the tiniest offense becomes a crime worthy of eternal punishment. Let us have no illusions about the magnitude of any sin. Every sin is heinous, and we ought not judge these things by human or social standards.
Nevertheless, when a Christian sins, if he falls into a practice of sin, some diversion in life that leaves him habitually committing the same sin over and over continually, God will allow enough trials in that person’s life that he will have no option eventually but to turn to God in desperation. Chastisement is not punishment, but is intended as a restorative, a measure that will leave us no choice but to turn back to God. Every chastisement is a blessing.
If, however, the Christian recognizes his sin immediately and turns from it, there is neither chastisement nor punishment. This, because all of the punishment for every sin was accomplished at Calvary. The outpouring of Jesus’ blood on Calvary was sufficient to pay all of the penalty of the Law for all those who place their trust in Christ. It is always our choice whether we suffer chastisement or blessing. Let us be wise.
Jesus Christ - All We Ever Needed
"We always say Jesus is all we need but we never know Jesus is all we need until Jesus is all we've got. When Jesus is all we've got, THEN we know Jesus is all we need. You know what God does? He brings someone He loves to the point of real need...sometimes in even allowing great sin and shame when we stumble and fall. It's then that we begin to understand that Jesus is REALLY all we need."
That quote is from Steve Brown, on the Buddy Greene CD, “Grace for the Moment.” Israel always did better spiritually when she had her back against the wall. Christians are like that too. Sometimes we need to remember that Jesus is all we need. Sometimes we get too self-sufficient. Or self-righteous.
The fact is, Jesus is all we ever really have anyway. We do not own the things we possess, but are merely serving as stewards of those things. When we die, we find out what we have truly owned. We know what we have owned by what we have after death, and all that we are left with then is all that ever needed anyway, Jesus Christ.
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